Onward Christian soldiers!

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COLORADO SPRINGS - As the Air Force Academy here was still coping with fallout from a sexual assault scandal in the past couple of years, officials learned that they also had a problem with religious intolerance on campus, where 93 percent of the 4,000 cadets are Christian.

"People were doing and saying things that would not be tolerated at any Air Force base we've ever been at," said Col. Debra Gray, vice commandant of cadets at the academy, which plans to begin mandatory religious sensitivity sessions in February for cadets as well as faculty and staff members.

Some cadets were offended when fliers for the film "Passion of the Christ" were left around campus. Others have complained of being told by other cadets to march in a "heathen flight" if they did not participate in religious services during basic training. One Jewish cadet reported being called a "Christ killer." Atheists have expressed problems with God's being invoked in public academy statements.

Some cadets were offended when fliers for the film "Passion of the Christ" were left around campus. Others have complained of being told by other cadets to march in a "heathen flight" if they did not participate in religious services during basic training. One Jewish cadet reported being called a "Christ killer." Atheists have expressed problems with God's being invoked in public academy statements.

"I felt, and we felt, it was necessary to tell people, 'There are people among us who are not feeling the same as the rest of us, who are feeling marginalized,' " said Lt. Gen. John Rosa, the academy superintendent, who is Roman Catholic. "If it's one person, it's a big problem. It's just like sexual assault; if we have one sexual assault, that's too many."

After learning of years of sexual assaults on female cadets, officials began to study the culture and climate at the academy. Partly through anonymous surveys, the issue of religious tolerance - or lack of it - jumped out.

"One of the questions was how often do you hear off-color jokes, sexual, religious slurs, that kind of thing," General Rosa said. "Ninety percent of our young people told us they heard those often or frequently. It was a matter of daily routine that when you formed up to march someplace, somebody in that group would tell an off-color joke."

It's time this issue was addressed head on. I doubt we'll see much converage at the Evangelical Outpost, though.